06/12/2023
RASA LEGAL Services is offering help to anyone struggling with Criminal Expungement and finding a job: https://www.rasa-legal.com/arizona/
Rasa Legal is offering expungement services through its website, so don’t worry if you missed Wednesday’s clinic.
There are nearly 2,000 Arizonans with criminal records, according to Rasa Lega, the organization giving those people a second chance at life by offering record clearance services.
The state has the fifth highest incarceration rate in the country. To help get people out of a life of crime, Arizona passed a law allowing people to seal their criminal records. Many people are now getting opportunities that would not otherwise be possible, including something as simple as getting a job. “Unfortunately, I’m a repeat offender,” said Brandy Smith.
She knows for people with criminal records, their past can haunt them. “I’ve been caught in he criminal justice system for almost 17 years,” she said. “Once you have a felony, it’s a life sentence.”
Through Rasa Legal, eligible Arizonans can clear their criminal records and Smith says the impact can be transformative. “It really just gives hope,” she said “It really gives people the ability to not just come out of the criminal justice system but to really close that loop and move on with their lives.”
Last Wednesday, the American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact (AmFam Institute) and Rasa hosted a criminal record expungement clinic and fair chance hiring event. “When you expose people to a different type of job,” said Dr. Ryan Thornell, Director of Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. “And different type of income and fill in that gap where we have employment issues and we have sectors in the community struggling, we have a workforce that has the opportunity to contribute. So there is a personal economic benefit to them but also a community economic benefit.”“Think of all the things you cannot do when you have a criminal record and it may be 5, 10, 15 years old,” he said. “And it may still preclude someone from getting a certain type of job or living in a certain type of neighborhood and we have to ask ourselves is it fair?”
Expungement oftentimes requires time and resources and Rasa aims to change that, charging a flat rate of $250. AmFam Institute paid for 100 expungements Wednesday, each of which can cost as much as $1000.
We’re on a mission to make the process of clearing an Arizona criminal record simple and affordable for everyone.
